THERE IS A CONNECTION

​Animal Action Network

A non-profit Colorado Group Working for Compassion

A DAY for ALL MOTHERS

Tell everyone you’re going dairy free to celebrate #ADayForAllMothers by joining the Facebook pledge today!  facebook.com/events/1173138882794547/

By Joining this event, you are pledging to go Dairy Free for 24 hours on Mother's Day (May 14, 2017). It counts even if you're already vegan! This is the perfect occasion to support the bond between dairy cows and their babies as you celebrate your own mother. Every 76 pledges to go dairy free for this one day will save another calf!
Last year, we launched this Facebook-only event asking people to go dairy-free on Mother's Day to honor the bond between mother and child (https://www.facebook.com/events/1531434320486207/?active_tab=about). In its inaugural year, 271 people pledged to go dairy-free for Mother's Day, saving an estimated 200 lbs of dairy from being consumed and reducing the need for 3-4 veal calves to be born. Additionally, 2,543 people were individually invited to the event, increasing its overall exposure. With your help, we will grow A Day for All Mothers ten-fold in 2017!
Use this page to find and share Dairy Free Recipes to treat your mother, learn more about the positive impact you can make for dairy cows and their babies, and connect with others who are making this commitment.

Hashtag #ADayForAllMothers !

WHY DAIRY FREE?:
The cattle we breed for meat is very different than the cattle we breed for milk and dairy products. Beef cattle are selected for their tendency to build a lot of fat and muscle (meat). Dairy cows, on the other hand, are relatively very skinny. They are selected to put their nutrients into milk production and not into building their own bodies.
Like humans, dairy cows only produce milk after they have given birth. As such, they are continuously re-impregnated. Two specific problems for mothers and babies arise from this system.
1) Far too many dairy calves are born every year to all be put into the dairy industry, but they are too skinny to be raised for meat. Of course, male dairy calves have no chance of being of any value to the industry since they cannot produce milk.
2) If baby calves nurse from their mothers, that is a loss in product to the industry (e.g. milk that could be sold to humans is consumed by baby cows instead.
As a solution to these problems, most dairy calves (all those that are not raised to produce milk themselves) are separated from their mothers within 14 hours of birth (some are taken away within the hour!) and kept in crates until they are slaughtered for veal. Using dairy calves for veal, even though they produce very little meat compared to beef cattle, is economically feasible for farmers because they are slaughtered as babies, before requiring input costs for feed and other care. Veal crates are one of the most confining pieces of equipment in all of animal agriculture and often do not allow the isolated calves even to fully extend their limbs.

To learn more about all mother farm animals, please see this excellent post from Free From Harm, http://freefromharm.org/animal-cruelty-investigation/eating-meat-destroys-motherhood/.

YOUR IMPACT:
Okay, so it’s not like a calf born on Mother’s Day will get to stay with his mother because you didn’t use milk that day. BUT, your pledge to go dairy free means that fewer animals in the future will be subjected to the cruelties of the dairy industry.
By the numbers (see SOURCES below)....
3 million vegans in the United States x 275.9 lbs of dairy not eaten/year/vegan / 21,000 lbs of dairy produced/dairy cow/year x 1 calf born (and killed)/dairy cow/year = 39,400 baby calves saved from the pain of being separated from their mothers and confined in veal crates each year!
This Mother’s Day we are going to save even more! Just 76 pledges to go dairy free for this one day will save another calf!

DAIRY FREE RECIPES:
Hash browns: http://minimalistbaker.com/crispy-hash-brown-haystacks/
Simple vegan omelet: http://minimalistbaker.com/simple-vegan-omelet/
Vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls: http://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls/
Vegan banana bread: http://minimalistbaker.com/1-bowl-nutella-banana-bread-vegan-gf/
Toasted coconut pancakes: http://minimalistbaker.com/toasted-coconut-pancakes/

SOURCES:
· There are approximately 3 million vegans in the United States, (http://www.imaner.net/panel/statistics.htm#reveal).
· The average modern dairy cow produces about 21,000 lbs of dairy/ year (55 lbs of dairy/ day) (http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/faen/dairy%20facts.html, http://www.dairymoos.com/how-much-milk-do-cows-give/).
· The average dairy cow gives birth every year (http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/farmschool/food/milksch.htm), which leads to the death of one baby per year.

Please also join and share Simple Foods FB event! Thanks!
facebook.com/events/1173138882794547/

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